


Even While We Sleep

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - Prison, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Character Death, Gore, Heavy Angst, M/M, Major Character Undeath, POV Third Person, Supernatural Elements, Triggers, Violence, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-01 21:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4035229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the Karasuno boys are forced participants in a government experiment about supernatural abilities that goes terribly wrong, and must try to escape before they are executed. A lot of things happen in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuse for this, I just wanted to write about what would happen if these nerds somehow acquired supernatural abilities. Please don't take me seriously.

"Subject 0209, state your name, age, and reason for incarceration."

"Kageyama Tobio, 20, monster mutation." He was sat in a cold metal chair, hands cuffed behind his back; it was almost comical how little they'd done to restrain him. Then again, he could feel a tiny trickle of blood dripping down his forearm, so they'd probably injected him with some sort of tranquilliser.

"Specify your type of mutation." The voice over the intercom was feminine, but deadpan. Like they'd done this a hundred times before.

"Pronounced canines, hardening of the skin, increased reflexes, heightened senses, and high damage resistance, sustained by consumption of life-essence."

"You are referring to monster mutation of the vampiric class, correct?"

"Right." He couldn't take much more of this. It was all so formal, when they knew damn well what he was in here for. And what he was capable of.

"Thank you." The door opened, and a beautiful woman walked toward him, expressionless. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose as a younger woman followed her into the room. "I am Correctional Manager Kiyoko Shimizu, and this is my assistant, Yachi Hitoka. We'll be in charge of your care throughout your stay here." The younger one, Yachi, smiled at Tobio as if she were trying to be encouraging. Tobio scoffed, wishing they'd lay off the formality. They all knew what would happen to him here.

Kiyoko kept talking, though, as if everything needed to be explained. "This is the Karasuno Institution for Behavioural Correction. Our specialty is dealing with criminals who have exceptional abilities, like yours." She smirked a little, and Tobio mentally rolled his eyes at her. "You'll be living in the east wing, in room E2319. You'll be escorted there shortly, but before that I need to explain the rules of this institution.

"You may have noticed slight bleeding in your forearm; while it's true we've tranquillised you, that is only temporary insurance. We also implanted a microchip near the crook of your elbow, which will be used for tracking and monitoring purposes. Also, if you should ever act out of line or refuse to comply with my demands, the chip will release a lethal injection into your bloodstream. I'm sure you understand that following the rules is very important to us here at Karasuno.

"Now, as for what those rules are: first, you are not to fight with the other subjects. This is an experiment, after all, and we won't be able to collect any data if you all kill each other. Second, you are not to leave the facility without my express permission. Doing so will result in termination. Third, you must join a squad with three other subjects, and as a team you will train to fight crime for the benefit of all Japanese citizens. Refusal to comply with this request will result in termination. If you are not willing to repay your debt to us for preventing your immediate execution, we have no use for you."

Tobio clenched his teeth. Of course he didn't want to become some freak experimental superhero, but at this point it was really his only option. He didn't know what had gone wrong in his genetics to make him into such a monster, but regardless of origin the government had deemed him a threat that was unworthy to live. It was only thanks to these bastards that he was even alive, and he couldn't deny that he did owe them at least this much. He nodded, defeated. "I agree to these terms."

Kiyoko smiled more genuinely this time. Tobio still wasn't fooled; such trivial gestures were pointless in a place like this. "Good. Yachi, please release the subject." The blonde girl did as she was told, unlocking the cuffs and checking Tobio's arm to make sure there weren't any complications with his microchip.

"Everything's ready, ma'am." She smiled at Kiyoko, who gave an approving, but indifferent, nod.

"Thank you. This way, Kageyama." She led him out of the room to an elevator, where he was accompanied by four guards. "They'll take you to your room. I hope you enjoy your time here at Karasuno." She bowed slightly before the doors shut with a heavy thud, and the elevator began its descent.

"You're a monster type, right?" One of the guards asked cheerfully.

Tobio cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, vampire class."

The guard whistled through his teeth. "Damn, haven't seen one of those in forever. That's impressive." The elevator stopped, and he waved for Tobio to follow him into the hallway. The other three fell behind as he said, "Name's Bokuto. I'm the head guard for the east wing, so you'll be seeing a lot of me."

He didn't really care what this guy's name was, but he figured it would be best if he wasn't rude. "I'm Kageyama."

"Nice to meet you, Kagayama!" Bokuto gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder, then opened a sliding door. Tobio entered a room with three bunk beds against the far wall and not much else, besides a door leading to a bathroom in one of the corners. "Your roommates are out training right now, but they'll be back soon. Make yourself at home, and try to stay out of trouble."

He turned on his heels, motioning for the other guards to move on to whatever other gruesome tasks they'd been assigned. He waved before shutting the door, and Tobio was alone again.

He sat on the bottom bunk of the nearest bed, and felt suddenly weak. He rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly, realising as he did so that he was bleeding. It dawned on him that Bokuto hadn't actually cared about introductions, he'd just needed an excuse to get close enough to Tobio to give him another dose of tranquillisers. He growled a little under his breath, annoyed that he hadn't seen it coming. Not that it would have mattered either way; all he could do was accept whatever they did to him and wait it out for a chance to escape.

That was the plan, anyway.


	2. Company

The first thing Tobio saw when he woke up was a vampire bat hanging from one of the boards under the bunk above his. He frowned at it, not sure where someone could have gotten an animal in here, much less a bat. He waved it away, brow furrowed as he mumbled about how if this was meant to be a joke, it wasn't funny. The bat flew off into the centre of the room, where it stood on the cold tile and started stretching and twitching. Slowly, Tobio noticed it began to change form; growing larger and less animalistic until finally, it turned into a boy.

Tobio's eyes widened as he sat up in his bed. "What the hell?"

The boy stared at him. "What, you've never seen a shape shifter before? You can turn into a creature of the undead, I can turn into animals. It's not a big deal." He shrugged, like it was the most normal thing in the world for people to randomly turn into animals. Tobio guessed that here, it probably was.

"So that's what you're in for?" he asked tentatively, not sure whether they were even allowed to talk about these things. The guards hadn't said anything about it, so he assumed it was alright, but he wasn't entirely sure he even wanted to have this conversation.

The boy started fixing his hair in a mirror hanging from the wall, spiking it up in all directions except for a chunk that he let fall over his forehead. "Yeah," he said absentmindedly. "Me and Asahi - hey, where is he anyway?" He looked round the room, but the person in question was nowhere to be found.

"He stayed behind to train some more with Tanaka." Tobio hadn't seen who had spoken, but the voice had come from directly above him. He slid off his bed, looking up to see a tall guy with glasses sprawled across the top bunk.

He blinked a couple times. "Who are you?"

The blonde boy glared at him. "I'm Tsukishima Kei. Why do you care?"

"I wouldn't normally, but since I'm stuck here in this freak show it would be best to get to know who I'm up against."

Tsukishima shook his head. "That's not how it works. We aren't enemies, you know."

"Hey, wait! Why didn't you ask my name?" The short boy had finished messing with his hair, and walked over and crossed his arms, pouting at Tobio. 

He sighed. "Fine, what's your name?"

"I'm Nishinoya Yuu! But you can just call me Noya, that's what everyone else does. Except you can't talk to me when I'm in animal form, only Asahi can do that." He grinned, and Tobio hated how energetic he seemed. It was going to be exhausting, he could tell.

"So what's he in for?" Tobio jabbed his thumb in Tsukishima's general direction, and Noya giggled.

"See those headphones?" Tobio nodded. "He's always wearing them. Wanna know why?" Noya lifted his eyebrows, waiting for him to take the bait.

Tsukishima stole his thunder. "It's because I'm technopathic, okay? It's a security blanket. Let's move on." He rolled his eyes, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and jumping to the ground. "Where's everybody else? He should probably meet them before tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Tobio asked, but the other boys ignored him. They set out to find the others, but just as they left someone else entered the room.

The guy started staring intently at him, and immediately, Tobio felt calmer - like he didn't have a care in the world. The freckled boy who'd come in seemed quiet, and even though he must have been dangerous if he was in this place, he didn't seem like he could hurt a fly.

"Yams, stop it!" A kid with bright orange hair punched him lightly on the arm, and the taller one laughed before walking toward Tobio.

"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi," he said, sticking his hand out. 

Tobio took it, shaking it warmly before saying, "Kageyama Tobio. I'm in here for vampiric monster mutation." He hadn't intended to tell him that, but he felt weirdly at ease, like he could tell Yamaguchi anything and his secrets would be safe.

"Hey, I said stop!" the other kid said again, bouncing up and down like he was tense. Tobio didn't know what he was talking about, but it didn't seem like Yamaguchi was doing anything out of the ordinary.

He turned, confused. "What's he doing?" He found himself smiling, happy for no apparent reason despite everything that had gone wrong lately.

"His specialty is empathic manipulation," the orange-haired kid said like that explained everything, which it didn't. "That means he can control your emotions! Don't tell him stuff he doesn't ask."

All the warmth and happiness Tobio had been feeling left as suddenly as it had come. "Don't worry, I'm done. I just wanted to know what your ability is," Yamaguchi said as he sat on Tobio's bunk. "But you were pretty easy; usually I have to do way more than that." He smirked a little, and Tobio wanted to punch him.

"Like what?"

"Like writhing in pain, the feeling of paralysis, even the feeling of death. I've learned a lot of emotions since I got here." He looked sad as he said it, but if he was willing to make people feel like they were dying then Tobio couldn't really feel bad for him.

"You can do that?"

The other boy answered for Yamaguchi. "Yeah, pain is an emotion too. He can really do a number on you once he gets inside your head. But enough about him! I'm Hinata Shouyou, and I have the coolest power there is!" He smiled excitedly, and Tobio braced himself for whatever bizarre ability was about to be revealed.

"Show me," he said as he took a step back.

Hinata's smile grew, which made Tobio start to feel concerned. Apparently, that was wise of him; Yamaguchi pulled him farther away, to the other corner of the room. "He can't control it very well yet, so we should stay back just to be safe," he explained, and Tobio nodded. "Okay, Hinata, go for it!"

Hinata closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to clear his head. When he opened his eyes again, he looked like a completely different person; gone was the happy disposition he'd shown earlier, and in its place was the stone-cold gaze of a killer. Tobio pressed back against the wall, unsure he wanted to know what sort of power was inside his tiny body. Hinata raised his arms slightly, slowly bending them at the elbow till his forearms were parallel to the floor. Then, in one swift movement, he brought his hands up to the level of his shoulders, and the impossible happened.

There was a flicker on the tile, a spark that couldn't be explained, which grew into a steady flame until Hinata was surrounded by a swirling fire. It kept growing as he raised his hands above his head, till it was only fifteen centimetres or so from where Tobio and Yamaguchi were standing. It was hot, but somehow Hinata didn't seem to be affected by it. He moved his right hand outward, and a flame shot into the wall at his side. As he spread his arms wide, the flames grew broader, engulfing the room in a sea of orange and red. Just when Tobio thought he was bound to burn the place down, Hinata brought his hands together with a loud smack, folding them in front of his chest as the fire disappeared into thin air.

Tobio realised he was breathing heavily, and his heart was racing. "Damn. Pyrokinesis is no joke."

"Isn't it cool?" Hinata bounded to where they were standing, his typical grin back on his face. He looked like nothing had happened, which was unsettling.

"Hinata, there is nothing cool about playing with fire." Tobio said it flatly, so it took several seconds for the other boy to get the joke.

As soon as he did, he burst out laughing. "I like you, Kageyama!" Yamaguchi didn't seem to think it was nearly as funny, and if he was being honest Tobio didn't think it deserved so much appreciation either. But it was refreshing to hear genuine laughter, so he let it be.

There was a knock on the door, and a silver-haired boy stuck his head in. "What are you two doing to the new roomie? Nothing too painful, I hope." He said it like a disappointed mother, despite the fact that he couldn't be more than a couple years older than them.

"Awh Suga, we were being nice! He just wanted to know what our special powers are," Hinata practically sang. He was such a kiss-ass.

"He's one of the monsters, in case you were wondering," Yamaguchi offered helpfully, smirking proudly.

The boy with the grey hair looked defeated. "I'm sorry about these two, really. By the way, I'm Sugawara Koushi. You can call me Suga if you want."

"Kageyama Tobio."

"Oh, you're the famous Kageyama?" a guy with a buzz cut asked as he slid the door open wider. He walked toward them, his face twisted into a grimace that was meant to be intimidating, but in actuality it was kind of funny. "I'm Tanaka Ryuunosuke, and I could definitely take you in a fight!" He kept glaring, and Tobio just stared at him.

"Ryuu, calm down! There'll be plenty of time for that later." Noya threw his arm around Tanaka, who turned to him.

"I should give him a proper welcome, though! You got to use your power on him already."

"Not really, he just turned into a bat. It was pretty lame," Tsukishima butt in.

"Hey! I didn't want to scare him too bad, that's all." Noya tensed like he was about to do something violent, and Tanaka followed suit.

"Tsukki, leave them alone for once." Yamaguchi sighed, and Tobio got the impression he said things like that a lot.

Tsukishima shrugged. "I'm just saying. Plus, I didn't get to show him anything yet either."

Tanaka wasn't comforted by that sentiment. "I don't give a shit if you got to, I still wanna show him how awesome I am!" He and Noya clenched their fists, ready to pounce.

"Would you all please just calm down?" Suga groaned. "I'm seriously this close to calling Daichi."

Everyone froze at that. "If you don't stop, I'm gonna set you on fire." Hinata tried to whisper it to Tanaka, but he was still being loud enough that everyone got the warning.

Suga looked at him disapprovingly. "No one's getting set on fire. Not right now, anyway." Tobio was going to ask when that would ever be appropriate, but Suga didn't give him a chance. "Tanaka here is gifted with sound wave generation, so he can do a sonic scream that collapses entire buildings. Which is why we don't let him show it off."

Tobio nodded. "He's got a point," he said to Tanaka, who grit his teeth. Turning back to Suga, he asked, "So what's your specialty?"

"Nothing special, really. Eidetic memory."

"It is too special!" Hinata blurted.

"Basically it means he remembers everything ever," Tsukishima explained, distractedly fiddling with his headphones.

"Not everything," Suga countered. "But I do remember you."

Tobio started. "Me? From where?"

"It was five years, two months and seventeen days ago. I was in a convenience store, buying a meat bun with Daichi. You walked in with a boy who had this flippy brown hair, bought a milk box, and left. I think you were wearing a school uniform, but I'm not sure which one."

Tobio blinked several times, trying to process what he'd just heard. His chest tightened up, not because he remembered that day specifically, but because of what it meant. He'd been with Oikawa that day. He hadn't hurt anyone yet.

"You remember something that boring?" was all he said, avoiding the past like he'd gotten so accustomed to doing.

Suga shrugged. "It's not like I want to, my brain just does it."

"They're all pretty impressive, aren't they?" a tall guy with long hair asked. Tobio hadn't noticed when he'd entered the room, despite his size.

"Yeah, they are. What about you?" He eyed the man-bun guy quizzically.

"Me? I'm Azumane Asahi, faunal communication. It isn't super helpful." He scratched his neck sheepishly.

"Yes it is! He's the only one I can talk to when I'm in animal form," Noya offered. "It's like telepathy, but it only works on animals. That's why I said I wouldn't come here unless they brought him too."

That didn't make sense to Tobio. "You'd rather be executed than come here without him?"

Noya's nod was full of conviction. "Yeah. They weren't gonna give him the chance to come here originally, but I wasn't just gonna let them murder someone I love."

Asahi looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. "Why wouldn't they give him the option?" Tobio asked. It didn't seem like talking to animals was a skill worthy of execution.

"They wanted us split up, so that he couldn't tell me what to do after I changed forms. They were gonna kill me, but they thought my power was too valuable to just throw away. So they wanted to throw him away instead, like he was some kind of trash." Noya was fuming, and Tobio could feel the tension in the room. He'd hit a nerve, and he was starting to regret this conversation.

"You should be thankful you got that choice." His mouth said it before his brain could stop him, and Tobio knew he'd crossed a line. It was too late to go back, though, so he braced himself for Noya's wrath.

But nothing happened, because at that moment Suga nodded to Yamaguchi, and within a second Noya was a giggly mess. He was so happy it was almost creepy, but at least he wouldn't collapse Tobio's skull or anything.

Asahi apologised repeatedly for Noya's behaviour, dragging the smaller boy to his bunk and tucking him in like a five year old. Noya was obedient, laying down and snuggling up to Asahi like he was the happiest guy in the world. At the moment, he probably was, but not by any natural causes.

"I think we should all get some rest," Suga suggested, and there were various modes of agreement scattered around the room. He turned to Tobio. "Asahi and Noya always shared a bunk, but none of us had to before. Who do you wanna sleep with, Kageyama?" 

"I have to sleep with someone?" He was a little taken aback at that, and he was in no position to decide which of these strangers he wanted to spend the night with.

"Not technically, if you're okay with sleeping by yourself in the room next to this one. I don't recommend that, though." Tsukishima said it indifferently, but something flickered in his eyes that showed he meant it. Tobio couldn't quite place what it was.

"Well I'm not gonna sleep with any of you weirdos, that's for sure. See you in the morning," he said as he grabbed a blanket and stepped through the doorway.

Suga trailed behind him under the guise of helping him get settled, but he could tell there was something else on his mind. When Tobio asked what it was, he just said, "You'll see tomorrow, once you meet Daichi."

"Who the hell is Daichi?"

"He's - it's complicated. But for now he's our training instructor. Tomorrow's your first day, so you'll have to fight each of us so Daichi can assess your potential. Are you prepared for that?"

Tobio felt a shudder make its way down his spine as he remembered all the things he hadn't been prepared for up to this point. "I can handle it. Thanks, though."

"If you say so...just try to sleep well, okay? You need to be at your peak performance tomorrow."

Suga left a few minutes later, and Tobio stared at the ceiling for what felt like ages before sleep finally found him. That night, he had his first nightmare in four years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that's pretty much it for introductions, so from here on out it'll be more actual plot and character development (sorry). Thanks for putting up with this initial stuff, and I'd love to hear what you think of the powers I chose for each of the boys! :P
> 
> Also if you have a tumblr [hmu](http://mabroto.tumblr.com)


	3. Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about close combat or fighting techniques in general, I just looked up an embarrassing amount of YouTube videos and WikiHow articles to use as reference for this chapter. If the government is monitoring my internet history, they probably think I'm a murderer or something and they're on their way to arrest me already.
> 
> But anyway, my point is that I'm sorry if any of this is inaccurate, and please for the love of God don't try this at home.

"Okay, here's how this is going to work." The combat instructor pressed a button on a remote, and a projector flickered on to show a list of names. His shirt said "Sawamura," but so far Tobio had only heard people call him Daichi. He seemed like the responsible type, and he gave off the same vibe you get from an overprotective dad. Which was strange, given the fact that he was essentially encouraging them to kill each other. They were in a large, nearly empty room that reminded Tobio of a gym - only it was about ten times bigger, and smelled like a mixture of blood and bleach. Daichi had explained that this was where all their training matches were held.

"What's this list for?" Tobio didn't think there was any real logic to it.

Daichi read it out loud. "Number one, Asahi. Two, Noya. Three, Yamaguchi. Four, Tsukishima. Five, Tanaka. Six, Suga. And last, Hinata. That's the order you'll fight them in."

Tobio's eyebrows raised involuntarily. "Is there a method to this line-up? It seems completely random." He was mostly thinking out loud, but Daichi frowned.

"Nothing Daichi does is random," Suga reassured him, and the other boys nodded. They were all unusually quiet now that Daichi had entered the mix. Tobio wondered what kind of authority he had over them, besides the obvious.

"It's designed to progressively get harder. Asahi will be the easiest for you to handle, and based on the data we have you're pretty evenly matched with Noya. From then on, each of them will be more of a challenge than the one before."

"So why is Hinata last?" Tobio asked without thinking. He'd gotten into a bad habit of doing that lately.

Daichi's frown deepened. "Hinata's the only one with real battle experience. He may not seem like it, but he's taken out more people than everyone else combined. Don't take him lightly."

Tobio swallowed nervously, eyeing Hinata in his peripheral vision. He was jabbering happily to Yamaguchi, so there was a good chance he hadn't heard what Tobio had said. Tobio hoped that was the case; the last thing he needed was to piss off his most lethal opponent.

Daichi clapped his hands together, rubbing them excitedly. "Alright, everyone ready? Asahi, you're up. Go easy on him." He winked, and Tobio felt his stomach knot up. If Asahi was the least of his problems, this would be one hell of a day.

Daichi showed him to the far wall, where a ridiculous number of weapons and protective gear was hanging. Perpendicular to the wall, there were two metal tables that were also piled high with equipment. Tobio couldn't even tell what half of it was.

"You can use whatever you like, but we do have a standard set of protection you have to wear." He pointed to a small mound of fabric and military-grade plastic, which Tobio proceeded to put on. It consisted mostly of padded clothes to protect against blunt force, along with a vest that repelled bullets and a helmet to prevent brain damage. All in all, it didn't seem like it would offer much insurance.

"Okay, about the rules." Daichi waved Asahi, who was wearing his own set of gear, over. "The idea is to go all-out while minimising actual damage inflicted. Basically, do anything you want as long as you don't kill anyone."

Tobio waited for Daichi to continue, but he didn't. "That's the only rule?"

"Yeah. If I see that you're losing control, I'll tranquillise you. Other than that, have at it." Daichi spread his arms wide, giving them the floor. "You have two minutes to select your gear, and then you'll hear a buzzer. That's when the real fun begins." He smiled, and Tobio thought to himself that everyone in this place was 100% certifiable for enjoying violence so much. "Oh, one more thing. This will all be recorded and saved to our database. We have to track your progress, and all. But no pressure." Daichi turned, putting on his own assembly of protection as everyone else left to watch from a separate viewing room and the clock started ticking down.

Tobio took a deep breath. He'd never been in actual combat, but he'd had enough violent run-ins that he could get a sense of what he would need. He had never been one to use weapons; really, they mostly got in his way. He typically relied on his fangs and claws once he turned, so he didn't think there was much need for a traditional weapon.

The problem was what he should do about the fact that Asahi was selecting multiple guns with which to arm himself. Tobio counted three for sure, and he could also see a knife strapped to Asahi's thigh. Sure, Tobio's skin hardened when he was in his monster form, but that would only help so much. He found a long-sleeved leather shirt and pants, which were tight and uncomfortable to put on but would provide at least a little protection against a knife. He was wearing a bulletproof vest already, but he still had several vulnerable spots he needed to cover.

He switched out his lightweight helmet for a sturdier one; it was thicker, but not to the point it obstructed his vision. He noticed Asahi hadn't changed helmets, and made a mental note of the fact that his neck was also completely uncovered. Tobio's own neck was partially protected by the shirt he'd put on, but he'd still have to be alert for any choke holds or the like.

He found some metal-toed boots, and swapped his tennis shoes for them. He figured if need be, he could just land a good kick to a pressure point and let the weight of the metal do the rest. Asahi had also put on some boots, but they looked different than Tobio's. He told himself to be on the lookout for whatever trick Asahi had hidden in those shoes.

With the clock reaching the thirty-second mark, Tobio figured he was as prepared as he'd ever be, and it was time to turn. This was always his favourite part, the adrenaline rush he got from letting himself go. It was almost animalistic to enjoy such a thing, but it took a lot of effort to restrain himself all day, every day. He hadn't been able to use his monster form in months now; he needed a break. Inhaling slowly, he felt his muscles start quivering, beginning in his extremities and gradually working its way toward his torso. After a few seconds, he closed his eyes, letting out the breath he'd been holding. When he opened them again, they were deep red - almost black.

He felt his fangs expose themselves from his mouth, crudely overlapping his bottom lip. His claws were close behind, extending a good four or five centimetres from his fingertips. His skin had paled, which signalled that it had fully hardened; he knew the transformation was complete, because at the moment all he could think of was ripping into the soft flesh of Asahi's neck.

But then the buzzer sounded, and he had to focus on surviving this ordeal. It was refreshing to be back in action, though he'd never been in any fights as sophisticated as this. He knew his first order of business would be to disarm Asahi, at least temporarily; since he was wielding a gun at the moment, Tobio had to close the distance between them quickly. Guns were useless at close-range; he could wrestle them away from Asahi, and then he'd only have to concern himself with that damn knife.

He knew he could beat Asahi when it came to speed, and his reflexes were markedly better too. Asahi was good, but he was only human after all. Without an animal to talk to, he only had the mundane strength of a big guy who worked out a lot. It was definitely going to be easy to deal with him. He charged straight at Asahi, who fired a few shots to the head, but Tobio dodged them effortlessly. As he got closer, Asahi moved his line of fire down to Tobio's chest, to make it harder to avoid. Tobio had to give him credit; that was a good move, but unfortunately for Asahi it wouldn't be enough.

Tobio's training kicked in then. Before Asahi could fire any more shots, Tobio cupped his hands and jammed the barrel of the gun toward the ceiling, bending Asahi's wrist backwards. With one fluid motion, he used that momentum to twist the gun sideways and pull it closer to his chest, effectively hyperextending Asahi's thumb, which caused him to release the pistol. Rather than wielding the gun himself, Tobio used his fangs to bite off the trigger, rendering it useless. He tossed it to the side as Daichi let out a low whistle of approval.

Asahi was already regrouping, though, so this was no time to worry about spectators. Tobio knew his best chance of winning would be to remove all of Asahi's weapons at once rather than giving him time to pull them out one by one, so he didn't have many options. Thinking fast, he pounced at Asahi, who was working on aiming at Tobio's forehead already. Thankfully, this gun was much longer; it was probably a sniper rifle of some kind, and Tobio swatted it out of the way easily. He continued the motion to swing behind Asahi, pulling the gun with him and wrenching it out of the other boy's hands. He bit the trigger off again, tossing the mangled metal to the floor as Asahi tried to turn around to face him. He quickly jumped up, wrapping his arm firmly round Asahi's neck, the crook of his elbow positioned directly in front of the trachea. Tobio flexed, applying pressure to the sides of Asahi's throat, shutting off blood flow to his brain. Asahi crumpled to the ground, unconscious, within seconds.

Tobio only had half a minute at most before Asahi recovered, so he hurriedly searched all of his pockets for any weapons before taking the knife strapped to his leg and snapping the blade in half. He also removed the last gun Asahi had picked up, popping the trigger off with one of his claws and throwing the broken pieces unceremoniously on the ground.

Just as Asahi opened his eyes, Tobio sunk his teeth into one of his exposed jugulars. His blood was warmer than usual since he'd been exerting himself, which made it harder to drink, but Tobio knew he'd need the energy. He felt a sharp pain travel up his left arm, shocking its way up into his chest, and he gasped.

"Hey, no blood-sucking," Daichi scolded. Tobio realised he'd been tazed by the microchip inside his forearm, and he sat back on his haunches just as something hot and heavy rammed itself against his ribcage.

"You've got to be shitting me," he grumbled, sprawled on the floor. He was looking up at the ceiling, his view of which was currently being blocked by a monstrous grizzly bear.

"I did tell you Noya would be second," Daichi threw over his shoulder as he helped Asahi up.

"I thought I'd at least get a break!" Tobio hollered back. The bear snarled, its muscles tensing.

"You pissed him off."

"That's not helpful, dumbass," Tobio said as he dodged a paw to the face. Noya was going to be a pain in the ass, Tobio knew it.

"Respect your senpai!" Daichi frowned. "And focus on your fight, you idiot." Just as he said it, Tobio felt sharp claws scrape across his back, and he yelled in pain.

If Noya was trying to slice him to pieces, he'd just have to return the favour. He whirled around, ignoring the blood dripping down his spine as he swiped at Noya's neck. He made contact, but only grazed the surface; the bleeding was too superficial to do any real damage. Tobio knew he needed to immobilise Noya somehow, because at this rate it would just be a contest of who took longer to bleed out. He remembered something Oikawa had told him once: "I've seen plenty of people fight with one arm, Kags, but I've never seen anybody fight with one leg. If you want to shut them down, go for the legs."

He didn't know much about bears, but he knew that a clean cut through the Achilles' tendon was enough to incapacitate a human. Assuming all animals were similar in that regard, he switched gears, dodging an attempt to bite his arm and moving till he was facing Noya's back. Using one of his claws, he made an incision all the way down the back of Noya's leg; since he didn't know which spot to target on a bear, he figured he'd just have to hit all the probable areas. Noya let out a growl of agony, his right leg crumpling to the ground as it started gushing blood.

This was Tobio's chance to finish the job, but just as he moved to hit the other leg, Noya started shaking. Tobio stepped back as the bear's form became more and more slender, losing the appendages and fur till it was clearly the shape of a snake.

"That's a black mamba. Mind the fangs!" he heard Daichi call from his perch on one of the metal tables.

"Thanks for the heads up," Tobio mumbled as he braced himself for Noya's next move. He knew black mambas were extremely venomous; they could make a person collapse instantly, and you'd be dead by the end of the day if you didn't get treatment. They were also notoriously fast, which was going to be really annoying. The only weakness Tobio could see was the sheer size of the thing; it was at least two and a half metres long. He could use that in his favour, or so he hoped.

Not wanting to go on the defensive, he started running toward the side of the room where all the gear was held. Incidentally, that also meant he was running straight for Daichi, but the instructor didn't seem to be bothered by that fact. Noya was only concerned with Tobio, after all.

He moved behind one of the tables, eyes scanning the wall for anything that would be useful. He'd never fought a snake before, so he decided his best chance of winning was to trap Noya somehow. There wasn't anything around that seemed like it would be any help, so he gave up on the weapon idea and decided to use his own brute strength to hold Noya down.

The snake was rapidly making its way his direction, so he stood with the table between them as a sort of launching pad. Just as Noya slithered under the table, Tobio hurdled it and landed squarely on the snake's tail, pinning him in place. Unfortunately, Noya could still bite; he bared his fangs and thrashed his head around madly. Tobio was lucky that snakes have almost no peripheral vision, otherwise he would have been cornered.

It was too soon to start celebrating his victory, however, because the snake's body started to twitch and change right in his hands. He let it go, mouth falling open as a rhino materialised before him.

"God dammit," he breathed, once again completely at a loss. If he thought fighting a snake was bad, this was a thousand times worse.

Noya charged, running at him full speed, head lowered in an attempt to impale Tobio. As soon as he got close, Tobio jumped, using Noya's horn as a step to get onto his back. He dug the claws of his left hand into the rhino's thick skin so he wouldn't fall off, and got to work using his right to slash at anything he could reach.

Noya started shaking and kicking, blood trailing miniature waterfalls all over his back and sides. Tobio began focusing mostly on the skin of Noya's neck, trying to open a large enough wound that he would lose consciousness. He wasn't sure if rhinos were even able to pass out, but it was worth a shot. He could feel Noya getting weaker from blood loss, and took the opportunity to help himself to a few gulps of the blood that was currently gushing from Noya's injuries. He felt better - more powerful - as soon as he did.

Then he felt it again, stronger this time; a shot of electricity moving from his arm and through his shoulder all the way to his torso. It made his left hand release its hold on Noya involuntarily, and Tobio rolled off his back onto the floor. He breathed heavily, turning his head to see that Noya was once again human. He looked awful; he was bruised and bleeding from every bit of skin Tobio could see, and his breath was ragged, like there was fluid in his lungs.

Daichi walked over, kneeling next to Noya to look at the damage. "That's enough for today, Kageyama. Looks like we underestimated you."

The other boys came bursting through the door then, Suga leading the way with a medical kit. As he tended to Noya, Tobio focused his energy on reverting back to his human form.

He laid down, flat on his back, and closed his eyes. He breathed slowly, holding the air in his lungs for as long as he could manage before he dared to let it out. It helped gradually, and by the time he opened his eyes again they had reverted back to their signature blue; they were glassy and unfocused as he sat up weakly.

He could take a lot of damage in his monster form, but it hit him hard once he changed back. He took inventory of his wounds: aside from the cuts on his back that he couldn't see, he only had some minor bruising and a small sore on his cheek where one of Asahi's bullets had grazed him. He hadn't even noticed it till now.

Hinata came over with some disinfectant, handing it to Tobio before asking, "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You beat Asahi and Noya like they were amateurs," he explained, looking down as he wiped off the slashes on Tobio's back. "Sure, Asahi is only human, but he's still really strong. And Noya was a rhino! No sane person fights a rhino." His eyes widened, like it had just dawned on him that Tobio was, in fact, not sane.

"It's just muscle memory," he said as he dabbed at the cut on his face. "I had a really good teacher." He looked a little dazed then, lost in a memory that Hinata knew nothing of.

It didn't bother him; they all had secrets. "Well, I don't know where you learned that, but I want you on my team! Will you join me?" Hinata smiled, and it seemed a little out of place for once.

"Who else is with you?" Not that it mattered.

"Yamaguchi and Tsukishima! They're both really good too, you haven't seen them yet." He looked proud, and Tobio felt the corners of his mouth tilt up the tiniest bit.

"Okay, I'll join you." He didn't have anything to lose, really. It would be good to make some friends, and he doubted Noya and Asahi wanted him on their team after all that had happened.

Hinata looked like he'd just struck gold. "Yams! Tsukki! Did you hear that?!" He waved them over, and they jogged up to sit next to them on the floor. "We're gonna be unbeatable!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Tobio cut in. He didn't want to give them any false hope, especially not Hinata for some reason; probably because he was always getting too excited over nothing. He would drive himself insane if he kept that up.

Tsukishima frowned. "You don't get it, do you? I've been through a lot in this hellhole, but you're the first true monster I've ever seen."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" Tobio wasn't sure he wanted to know what Tsukki meant.

Hinata shook his head, eyebrows knitting together. "No. It means we aren't scared of much, not even death or hell or whatever comes after this. But Kageyama, we're scared of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm thinking about drawing Kags in his monster form? And probably the other boys with their powers too at some point?? I don't know just tell me if that's something y'all would be interested in.
> 
> As always, thanks for supporting my random AU's and I'd love to hear what you think!


	4. Haunting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I actually did end up drawing Kags in his monster form, so you can check it out [here](http://mabroto.tumblr.com/post/120789754280/kags-in-his-monster-form-from-my-mutant-au-fic#notes) if you want! (Also let me know if y'all want me to draw any of the others I guess...?)

_Tobio hadn't realised his hands were covered in blood._

_Actually, his clothes were splattered with it too; he was sticky and smelled of rust. It was dripping thickly off his fingertips, puddling beneath him on the pavement._

_"Hey, are you alright?"_

_He turned, facing a man who looked like he was in his mid-forties that was giving him a wary look. Tobio was used to that by now._

_"Yeah, he's fine." The voice came from over his right shoulder, and Tobio turned his head, relieved to see his mentor standing behind him. "You back?" Oikawa whispered, and Tobio nodded._

_"Okay, if you say so." The man didn't look convinced, but he also looked like he didn't want anything to do with them, and he walked away briskly. Tobio was used to that, too._

_"Where am I bleeding from?" he mumbled, checking himself up and down in an attempt to find any indication of his wounds. The blood didn't seem to be flowing, really; it was more of a trickle than anything, and there wasn't a definite source that Tobio could see._

_"Kags...that's not your blood." Oikawa stated it like it was obvious, but there was something else behind his words that Tobio couldn't interpret._

_"Oh. Again?" Tobio sighed, sitting on a nearby curb to try and clean up as best as he could._

_Oikawa nodded. "You never remember it, do you?" Tobio shook his head as Oikawa passed him a water bottle to pour over his hands. "I didn't at first, either. We just need to work on that."_

_Tobio exhaled sharply, dumping some of the water on his left hand. "We always have more to work on."_

_Oikawa frowned, but only briefly. "That comes with the territory, Kags." He put his arm round Tobio's shoulders, like they were just having a casual chat and not talking about matters of life and death. "But you're improving way faster than I did. That's promising, right?" He smiled, but Tobio didn't return the favour; he never did, so Oikawa wasn't expecting it anyway._

_He drizzled the water over his right hand next, watching as the liquid turned red and splattered across the asphalt. It would probably stain, and they'd definitely test it for DNA. Tobio was glad none of the blood was his._

_"Do you think things will ever get better?" he asked absentmindedly, giving the bottle to Oikawa so he could clean off Tobio's face for him. He closed his eyes as the cool liquid ran over his lips and chin._

_"No. Not as long as we're around, anyway." Tobio knew what he meant; not them specifically, but people like them. Mutants were a big enough problem as it was, and the monster class was deemed the worst by pretty much every civilised society. They were lucky that Japan hadn't yet adopted the "kill-on-the-spot-and-ask-questions-later" policy that was popular in places like America._

_"I don't want to be a monster, Tooru." Tobio didn't even know what he'd done, really, but he didn't need to. Oikawa made it a point not to tell him whatever it was he couldn't remember doing, but he wasn't an idiot - he knew he'd caused a lot of damage, and he didn't even want to think about the casualties he'd been responsible for._

_Oikawa pulled him in close to his side, like he always did whenever Tobio started to think too much. "You aren't, not really. You didn't choose this; if you had, that would make you a true monster."_

_Tobio buried his face in the crook of Oikawa's neck; it always calmed him down to know he had someone he could count on. "I guess...but I still don't want whatever this is."_

_Oikawa sighed, long and heavy, and he suddenly seemed much older than he was. "I know, neither do I. But we aren't the ones who decided that." Not that they knew who did, but at this point it hardly mattered. "And besides, if you're a monster...what does that make me?"_

_Tobio didn't want to think about the answer to that._

\----------

Tobio's eyes shot open as he sat up in the dark, inhaling forcefully. He could feel his hair matted to his forehead with sweat; it had been a long time since he'd had nightmares, but this made the second night in a row now. He threw the covers off unsteadily, wishing he had someone in the room with him. Ever since that day four years ago, he feared being alone more than even death itself.

He heard a toilet flush in the room next door, and he knocked on the wall by his bunk. The door connecting the bedrooms slid open, and Hinata tripped over the threshold.

"Kyah! Turn on a light, Kageyama!" he wailed, trying miserably to inspect his stubbed toe.

"Shut up, dumbass. You'll wake the whole prison up." Tobio motioned for Hinata to sit next to him on the bed, and he did so begrudgingly.

"This wasn't supposed to be a prison, y'know." He could hear the smugness in Hinata's voice; he was obviously thrilled to know something Tobio didn't.

"Really?" was all he said.

"Yeah! It started out as a hospital, then they renovated it into a research lab. That's when I got here."

"How long ago was that?"

He felt Hinata's shoulder shrug against his own. "Don't know, really. I was probably around thirteen? No, Natsu hadn't discovered her power yet, so I must have been twelve."

Tobio's eyebrows rose slightly. "Who's Natsu?"

"My little sister! I haven't seen her since then, but we used to be really close." Hinata hugged his knees up against his chest, making him seem even smaller than usual.

"How long has it been?"

Hinata looked puzzled. "How long has what been?"

"Since you saw your sister," Tobio explained.

"Oh! I haven't seen her since I got here, so I guess it's been eight years." His eyes looked out of focus as he said it, like he was remembering something he hadn't thought about in a while.

Tobio was distracted by something else, though. "Wait, you're the same age as me?"

Hinata looked at him happily, no longer lost in thought. "If you're twenty, then yeah! Tsukki and Yams are both our age too, that's why I joined up with them! Well, one of the reasons."

"They seem pretty close, too." Tobio had only known them a few days, but he could definitely tell they had some sort of history.

"Yeah, they go way back! Tsukki found Yams one day while he was -"

"Kageyama, you awake?" Hinata was interrupted by someone shouting through the door.

"Yeah," he replied flatly.

The door opened partly, and Bokuto walked in. "Get dressed. Kiyoko-san wants to talk to you."

Hinata glanced worriedly at Tobio, but he just shook his head slightly to warn the other boy not to ask questions. He'd found that generally, the less you knew the better off you were. Hinata bit his lip, obviously not sure what to do with himself. Tobio pretended not to notice and got up to change into his prisoners' uniform. Slipping on his shoes - which would have felt wrong to do indoors if he hadn't stopped caring about tradition long ago - he made his way toward the door.

"Okay, I'll tell him," Bokuto was mumbling into his wrist as Tobio walked up, then he turned to Hinata. "Hey, you're coming too. And get Tsukishima and Yamaguchi while you're at it."

Hinata nodded mutely, dashing into the adjacent room to get his squad mates. Tobio stood in awkward silence until Bokuto cleared his throat. "Look, sorry about the tranquilliser the other day. I'm on the same side as you, in case you didn't know. We all are."

Tobio glared at him, growling under his breath. "How the hell could any of you bastards be on my side? You're the reason I'm in this shithole."

"Yeah, I'm the reason you're here and not rotting six feet under." Bokuto wasn't bothered by Tobio's words, and he got the sense that he'd been told worse. He was going to ask how exactly Bokuto was involved in that decision, but he didn't get the chance. Just then, Hinata came back with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi in tow.

"Okay, we're all here - the whole team!" he chirped, and Tobio groaned because it was way too early for this. He wondered why Hinata was so happy to see Kiyoko anyway; she only ever gave bad news.

Bokuto waved a hand toward the door. "Let's go. There's another escort with me today, his name's Akaashi Keiji. Don't test him; if you do, you'll regret it."

They followed Bokuto out into the hall, where the most beautiful man Tobio had ever seen was waiting for them. It was weird for him to think of a man as beautiful, but there really was no other word to describe him. Well, maybe beautiful and apathetic. Either way, he didn't so much as greet them as they travelled in a pack to the elevator.

Ten minutes later, Bokuto was knocking on Kiyoko's office door. Akaashi still hadn't said anything; he had just stayed toward the back, watching them. Tobio was starting to feel a little uneasy about him, but at the moment he had bigger problems.

Yachi answered the door. "Come in!" She smiled warmly, like this was a house party and they were all just going to have dinner or something. Tobio almost laughed at how naive she seemed, but in a way he envied her.

They sat in the chairs across from Kiyoko at her desk, and Bokuto and Akaashi flanked them on either side. Tobio saw that Akaashi had started writing in a notebook; meanwhile, Bokuto was fiddling with a knife he'd pulled out of nowhere.

Kiyoko pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. "Good morning. Please state your name and subject number, in order from right to left."

"Tsukishima Kei. Subject 0187."

"Yamaguchi Tadashi, Subject 0188."

"Hinata Shouyou, Subject 0110!"

"Kageyama Tobio...Subject 0209."

Kiyoko nodded, like she'd needed the clarification. "Thank you. Now, about why we called you here..." She nodded to Yachi, who flicked a switch on the near wall. Apparently, it wasn't a light switch like it seemed to be; the doors locked with a click, a metal shade slid down to cover the window, and Kiyoko, Bokuto and Akaashi removed their comms units, which Tobio could hear were now ridden with static. He heard Hinata gulp in the seat next to him.

"This mostly concerns you, Kageyama, but since these three opted to let you into their squad, they've gotten dragged into it too." She pressed the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger, like Tobio had given her a headache. He might have, now that he thought about it. "Long story short, we are required to share all data with the government in real-time. There was no way for us to avoid alerting them of your...overpowering abilities.

"They've seen a lot of exceptional specimens come through Karasuno, but almost all of them ended up self-destructing at some point. They'd go on crazy rampages, start needless fights just for the fun of killing, you name it. So, the government is worried you'll be the same way. They want strong subjects, but not too strong. I'm sure you understand what that means."

Tobio clenched his fists where they were resting on his knees. "They want to execute me?"

Kiyoko shook her head. "No. Karasuno, by law, is not allowed to execute prisoners until after the fact. You'd have to actually kill someone for us to be justified in doing that. The government, however, has a plan to get around that little technicality. There's another facility like ours that has been granted preventative authority, and they've already started the process of sending someone over."

"Sending them for what?" Hinata butt in, and Tobio could see the colour drain out of Yamaguchi's face. If he was this worried, it couldn't be a good sign.

Kiyoko glanced at Bokuto, who gave some signal Tobio didn't catch. She sighed. "His name is Iwaizumi Hajime. He's a prisoner at the Aoba Johsai Detention Centre, and he's their best subject. If I had to guess -"

"Did you say Aoba Johsai?" Tobio knew he was being rude, and he shouldn't be concerned with such trivial details, but he couldn't help it.

Kiyoko shot Akaashi a look, but Tobio didn't see his reaction. "Yes. Do you know it?"

"That's where my mentor was from. He didn't find me till after he escaped, but he told me about it."

Everyone stared at him for a solid minute before Kiyoko said, "Your mentor was Oikawa Tooru?" with a shaky voice.

Tobio nodded. "You know him? Do you know where he is?" He told himself he shouldn't jump to any conclusions, but he hadn't let himself hope for so long that he couldn't resist.

Kiyoko nudged Yachi; she handed something to Bokuto, who said, "Kageyama...he's dead."

Tobio stared at him in disbelief. "Tooru is dead?" His chest felt tight, like his ribcage might crumple in on itself.

Tsukishima was the one who said it. "You killed him, that's why you're here. Don't you even remember?"

Tobio's vision went blurry, but he couldn't figure out why. His head felt hot, like he was running a fever, but he'd never been sick in his life. "I...I killed Tooru?" He shook his head, desperately trying to clear his vision and the fuzziness that was attacking his brain. "NO!" He stood up, lunging at Tsukishima and grabbing a fistful of his shirt. "Why would I ever do that? I loved him!"

"You're a monster, Kageyama. Killing is what monsters do." Tsukishima said it in his signature monotone, but his eyes looked pained in a way Tobio hadn't seen them before. It was almost like pity.

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!" He wanted to sound like he meant it, but he knew he wasn't convincing with tears streaming down his cheeks. He let go of Tsukishima's collar, sliding to the floor in a defeated slump.

Yamaguchi moved to sit next to him. "I can tell you really don't remember it," he whispered into Tobio's hair as he pulled him to his chest.

"Why? Why can't I ever remember the bad things I've done?" Tobio didn't put his arms around Yamaguchi, just shifted his weight forward till his head was resting on the other boy's shoulder.

Akaashi cleared his throat then, the first noise he'd made all morning. "I can tell you the answer to that. Or rather, as much of an answer as we've got so far."

Tobio looked over Yamaguchi's shoulder at Akaashi, and Hinata followed his gaze. "Gwah! You know what's happening to Kageyama?" he asked cheerfully. Like he still had hope.

Akaashi gave him a blank look before turning to Tobio. "I don't know much because we don't have a lot of data on you yet, but as the resident doctor I'm the best qualified to explain what we do know."

Tsukishima scoffed. "Since when does this place have a doctor?"

Bokuto paused sharpening his knife just long enough to shoot Tsukishima a warning glare. "Since 0400 this morning. I sent for him personally, so don't make any smartass remarks."

Akaashi sighed softly, but for the most part ignored the exchange. "As far as I can tell, you're the most highly evolved monster class we've seen yet. Which is a nice way of saying you're barely human." Tobio felt Yamaguchi's arms tighten around him at that, and Hinata joined them on the cold tile. "I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just a fact. Whenever you use your monster form, your brain switches into animal mode. You just go off instinct, and really you don't seem to possess any sense of morality once you've turned."

"What makes you say that?" Tobio could feel his hands shaking even worse than his voice.

"Like I said, we have very limited data on you so far. But based on the practice fights you had yesterday, it's only a matter of time before you end up like the other promising subjects we've had."

Tobio froze. "What exactly happened yesterday?" He saw Yamaguchi and Tsukishima exchange a questioning look, and Hinata sucked in a quiet gasp.

"You don't know, Kageyama?" Hinata looked like he was going to cry, even though Tobio couldn't figure out why for the life of him. He just shook his head.

Akaashi looked down at his notebook. "Azumane Asahi, Subject 0052. Suffered from internal bleeding, broken bones, stab wounds, a punctured lung, and most dangerously, a gash in the side of his neck that ruptured his jugular. Already received treatment, but he'll be in a cast for a while and has seventeen stitches in his neck." He flipped the page. "Nishinoya Yuu, Subject 0051. Injuries include internal bleeding, a crack in his skull, several torn muscles, multiple lacerations, concussion, loss of consciousness due to blood loss, a severed Achilles' tendon, and at least four compressed fractures of the vertebrae. He's currently in surgery, and will be under my care indefinitely." He stopped, waiting for Tobio to say something.

He couldn't make his mouth work, though; or maybe his mind was the problem, because he couldn't even think of what to say. His feelings wouldn't form coherent thoughts, and he wasn't sure he wanted them to. "I....had no idea." He was looking at the floor, but not really seeing it.

Kiyoko took a step toward them, pulling Hinata and Yamaguchi to their feet, then sticking her hand toward Tobio. He took it reluctantly as she said, "That's why they're sending Iwaizumi. You can't control yourself, and frankly no one thinks we can, either." Tobio was standing now, but he felt unsteady. Hinata inched closer to his side, as if his tiny frame could somehow prop Tobio up. "So, the goal is for you four to go on a real mission before he gets here. Kageyama, this is your only chance to prove that you are not a threat. If you fail, we can't help you."

Tobio's mouth felt dry, so he could only ask, "When will he be here?"

Kiyoko looked at a piece of paper Yachi handed her. "In two days, at most. You'll have all day tomorrow in the city. Daichi will put together a list of possible targets for you to apprehend, and Bokuto and Akaashi will accompany you just in case anything goes wrong." Tobio knew what that meant; they all did. "Kageyama, don't let us down. Prove them wrong. Show them that Oikawa didn't die in vain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter did not go how I expected it. I'm sorry for this, I swear I am.


	5. Grudge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long ;A; Between my birthday and Father's Day and a final I have coming up, it's been a crazy week and a half for me. I should be back on schedule from now on! Also your comments mean the world to me, you don't understand how much I love that y'all appreciate my writing~
> 
> All I can say is, brace yourselves. It's all downhill from here.

"We're doing a drug bust?" Tobio was still groggy, admittedly, but even still, arresting drug dealers seemed more like busy work than an actual mission.

Tsukishima was preoccupied with shoving what seemed to be random metal pieces into his pockets, and he paused. "It's not just a drug bust, we're going after an entire lab." Tobio nodded; that seemed like a more suitable assignment. "And for the record, these drug lords don't sell meth or crack or whatever. This is heavy shit we're dealing with." He went back to stocking his pockets, this time with electrical wire.

"So what exactly are we dealing with, Tsukki?" Hinata asked way too eagerly for five in the morning. He was still busy putting pants on, but he was fidgeting a lot, like he had too much energy and needed some way to burn it off. Literally.

"Well, from what I could find on this particular dealer, it seems like he specialises in synthetic mutation. So basically he shoots people up with a drug that turns them into....us."

"Woah! Has he made any mutants?" Hinata was even more interested now, and he'd all but abandoned getting dressed. Tobio sighed, adjusting his bulletproof vest under his shirt and glancing restlessly at the clock on the opposite wall.

"Not successfully. But watch out for this guy; he's tried to inject mutants before. If he gets any of that into your bloodstream, God only knows what would happen."

"Tsukki, you're stressing Kageyama out." Yamaguchi was eyeing Tobio, as if waiting for some kind of sign that he was going to be okay with this. Tobio wasn't sure he would be, though, and Yamaguchi put a hand on his arm, as if to steady him.

Tsukishima leaned against a table, evidently done with his preparations. "Hurry up, then. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

Yamaguchi went back to strapping his favourite knife in its usual position on his left bicep, and Hinata finally managed to get fully dressed. Tobio was pretty much done, too; all he needed was some basic protection from bullets, after all.

"So, how come Yamaguchi is the only one who brings weapons? I feel like we should be a little more...armed?" Tobio was mostly thinking out loud, but Yamaguchi gave him a weird look that he couldn't quite place.

Tsukishima answered him, though, as was usually the case. "You and Hinata don't need weapons, for obvious reasons, and I've got all I need right here." He patted his pockets, and Tobio cocked an eyebrow. "It's the basics for virtually any technology we may need. I don't do much fighting, if I can avoid it. Tasers are a personal favourite."

"Meanwhile, all I've got to work with is emotions," Yamaguchi offered. "Some people are more susceptible to my power than others, so it's good to have a backup plan."

"You're all wearing bulletproof vests though, right?" Tobio sounded like a worried mother, but he was the one who got them all into this mess to begin with, and hell if he wasn't going to protect them with everything he had.

"Yes, mom." Tsukishima's voice was flat when he said it, but he cracked a tiny smile. That was the first time Tobio had seen him show much emotion, which prompted another thought.

"Hey, Tsukishima?"

He looked over at Tobio in between wiping off his glasses and holding them up to check his progress. "Yeah?"

"How long have you and Yamaguchi been together?"

Tsukishima faltered a little at that, but it was hardly noticeable. "Ever since we were kids. It's probably been like, 16 years by now." He looked a little sad as he said it, but Tobio didn't ask for details; there was one thing he wanted to know in particular.

"Is that why you're so good at hiding your emotions? Because you don't want him to...manipulate you?"

Tsukishima furrowed his brow, shaking his head a little. "Actually, it's the opposite. He knows me so well that I don't have to show much emotion for him to pick up on it."

Tobio hadn't thought about it that way. "It must be nice to know someone like that." He'd meant to keep that thought to himself, but he found himself saying it aloud nonetheless.

"Yeah, because it means you both lived long enough to get the chance," Tsukishima mumbled, not talking to Tobio so much as himself. Tobio didn't want to hear the story behind that comment, so he busied himself with checking on Hinata.

"I swear, one of these days I'm gonna get you a goddamn babysitter. How did you even manage this?" He sighed and told Hinata to sit on a nearby table, which he did.

"C'mon, Kageyama! It's not that bad." Hinata pouted dramatically, and Tobio rolled his eyes.

"Yes it is, dumbass. Your heat-resistant clothes won't do any good if they're inside out." He took Hinata's shirt and pulled it over his head, fixing it before straightening it out and slipping it back onto the smaller boy. "Not to mention, you really should be wearing a bulletproof vest. I know you think you can just melt bullets with your fire or something else insane, but that's not gonna work. And for God's sake, put on some socks. No one's gonna carry you if you get blisters."

Hinata stuck his tongue out at Tobio, but shuffled over to the rack that housed the bulletproof vests. He shoved one over his head, asking Tsukishima if he thought his flames would melt the plastic.

Yamaguchi was done getting ready by then, and he walked over to where Tobio was tying the laces of his combat boots. "Hey, Kageyama, are you gonna be okay out there?" He bit his lip a little, like maybe he wanted to ask something else but couldn't bring himself to do it.

Tobio shrugged noncommittally. "I have no idea, really. This will be the first time I've done an actual mission since...Oikawa." He swallowed dryly, and Yamaguchi nodded.

"Just don't forget I'm there, okay? I'll help you if you feel like you're about to lose control."

"Thanks," was all Tobio could say. He mostly found himself wishing Yamaguchi had been there on his last mission, four years ago.

\----------

"Okay, roger that...Yeah, we're going," Bokuto said into his wrist as he shut the door of the van behind him before turning to Akaashi. "You stay off the field. If we need your help, I'll bring the injured to you. Don't use your power; Kiyoko-san hasn't gotten authorisation yet."

"Wait! Akaashi-sensei, you have a special ability too?" Hinata was always butting into people's conversations, but somehow no one seemed to mind. Maybe they were just used to it.

Akaashi just nodded. "Yes, I do. I can't tell you what it is, though." He shrugged, as if to say it couldn't be helped.

"We all do, actually. It's a requirement to work in Karasuno." The corners of Bokuto's mouth twitched up into a smirk, and of course Hinata took the bait.

"What's your power, Bokuto? I've been in Karasuno for a long time, and I've never seen you use it!" His mouth dropped open a little in awe.

"That's because you can't see it." Bokuto smiled mischievously, which made Hinata's eyes light up with anticipation. "It's called damage memorisation, which means if I get injured a certain way once, my body remembers it and I can't get that same injury again. It's ideal for a prison warden because if any of you fuckers attack me once, you won't be able to hurt me after that." He nudged Hinata, who covered his face with his hands to hide the blush that was creeping up his neck.

Tobio tilted his head a little, like dogs do when they're confused. "Hinata, did you attack Bokuto?" He was skeptical, but then again Hinata was still hiding behind his hands and shaking his head at Tsukishima.

Tsukki didn't listen, naturally. "Yeah, he tried to break out once to go find his sister. Bokuto got - what was it, second degree burns?"

Bokuto shook his head slightly. "Third. I've got wicked scars all over my back; remind me to show you sometime." He winked, and Tobio exhaled sharply through his nose. It wasn't a laugh by any measure, but Tobio felt more at ease now regardless.

Minutes later, the van rolled to a stop. It had been programmed ahead of time to bring them to each of the locations on the list Daichi had concocted for them, but Tobio wasn't so sure there hadn't been some kind of glitch. There was nothing in the immediate area, and certainly nothing that could have been a drug lab. He turned his head slowly, eyes grazing over every inch of space that he had access to. There was nothing there but grass and the gravel beneath the van, no matter how many times he looked.

Bokuto opened the door, letting it slide back with a loud click. "C'mon boys, it's play time." There was a flash of delight in his eyes, and Tobio was more than a little concerned by what he meant when he said "play." After all, Bokuto had at least three knives and two guns that Tobio could see, and he was almost positive he'd seen him stash a grenade in his pocket on the way out.

He turned to Hinata, who was sitting next to him, only to be met with the same joyful glimmer in his fiery eyes. Tobio abandoned whatever comment he'd been planning to make; he could feel his breath starting to quicken, which was never a good thing. He needed to get out into the open, and fast.

He stumbled out of the van, closing his eyes as he slowed his breath. If he didn't calm down before he turned, it would be even harder to focus than usual, which was absolutely the last thing he needed at the moment. He managed to steady his heart, and even though he still felt a bit lightheaded, he was much more relaxed. He wasn't entirely positive what sort of plan there was, if any, so he scanned the field for Bokuto.

Spotting the other boy's trademark spiked hair, he jogged over to his side. "Hey, Bokuto-san, do we have some sort of strategy or are we just making this up as we go?"

Bokuto didn't respond, just kept staring blankly into the horizon. It was eerie, and Tobio saw Yamaguchi tilt his head in their direction. Something was about to happen, and from the look on Yamaguchi's face it wasn't going to be good.

"Get behind me, Kageyama." Bokuto stuck out his right arm, shifting his weight so that Tobio's left side was shielded by his body. Tobio took a step back, partly from shock, but also because Tsukishima and Hinata were moving to Bokuto's sides, suddenly tense.

He looked at Yamaguchi, begging him to give any hint of what was going on. Yamaguchi shook his head, pressing a finger to his pursed lips, and Tobio nodded just as he heard Bokuto snarl under his breath. "Show yourself, you coward!" Now he was screaming at an empty lot, and Tobio was officially convinced that everyone here was mass hallucinating.

Or he was, that is, until a figure materialised a few metres in front of them. He squinted; it looked like a person, but where had it come from? He still couldn't make out many of its features, but he could see that the person was male, and incredibly fit; definitely a soldier of some kind. The tan was also a clue that he had field experience, not to mention the jagged scar that crawled its way across his temple before fading under his spiky mess of short hair. Tobio found his muscles twitching, and he fought the urge to change. He needed to wait for a signal of some kind; he didn't know if Bokuto would really want his help, to be honest.

The figure was much closer now, and he stopped briefly. "Come on Bokuto, we both know I'm not a coward." He lifted his hands as if surrendering, before smiling and closing the gap between himself and the group surrounding Tobio.

"What the hell are you doing here, Iwaizumi?" Bokuto grit his teeth, and Tobio saw his finger twitch on the trigger of his rifle. Iwaizumi's eyes also darted to the gun, but he quickly redirected his attention over Bokuto's shoulder.

"Is that him, then?" He scoffed. "I thought he'd be more intimidating." He took a step forward, but Hinata jumped in his path.

"Leave Kageyama alone! You weren't supposed to be here till tomorrow!" He involuntarily flexed his arms a bit, which meant he was ready for a fight.

"Yeah, well, plans change, small fry." Iwaizumi waved his hand, dismissing Hinata nonchalantly.

That was all Hinata needed to set him off. He spread his fingers wide, pointing his palms toward the sky as the grass in front of them burst into a swirl of orange. Iwaizumi barely reacted, just frowning and taking half a step back while muttering about the heat. Hinata inched the flames closer to Iwaizumi, who flicked his left wrist; instantly, an iridescent glimmer enveloped him, and Hinata's wildfire stopped advancing.

"What the hell was that?" Tobio hissed to the person closest to him, which happened to be Tsukishima.

"He's also got a force field," he said with annoyance. Whether he was aggravated at Iwaizumi's ability or the question itself, Tobio couldn't tell.

"Also?" Tobio skipped a beat, then gasped as he finally understood the situation. "Wait, he actually can turn invisible?"

"Yeah, and it really pisses me off," Tsukishima growled. Tobio noticed something shifting in Tsukki's pockets, just as Yamaguchi was starting to move on his other side. Bokuto shoved Tobio backward, and he stumbled a bit as he watched the other three join Bokuto in a line of defense. Yamaguchi glanced over his shoulder at him, but Tobio didn't react.

Iwaizumi let the force field dissipate, turning invisible for just long enough to move to Tobio's side. He put an arm around him, and the rest of the boys reached instinctively for their various weapons; Hinata, for his part, hadn't let the flames subside, and they jumped temperamentally behind him. "Here's how this is gonna work, Kags." The nickname Oikawa had given him sounded foul coming from Iwaizumi, and Tobio flinched the tiniest bit. Iwaizumi noticed, of course, but made no comment. "Your friends here have to fight me, till one of us falls, no rules. Well, I guess there is one rule: you can't help, and if you turn I get to kill you on the spot." He smiled, and Tobio could tell it was genuine, which only made it more disconcerting.

"That's bullshit! Why would we agree to that?" Bokuto was clearly not in the mood to be negotiating with a government-issued psycho.

"Because you have to." Iwaizumi procured a piece of paper out of some hidden pocket and handed it to Bokuto. He was the only one who could read it at the angle he was holding it, but it was probably classified anyway.

"Dammit," was all he said before handing the document back. "Fine. But what do you mean by 'fall,' exactly?"

"Die, of course. You know I only play for keeps." Iwaizumi's smile grew, and Tobio couldn't stop gawking. What the hell kind of history did these two have?

"I hope that isn't true, for your sake." Tsukki wasn't one to interrupt, so everyone immediately turned to stare at him.

"What makes you say that, beanpole?" Apparently Iwaizumi had a knack for giving people condescending nicknames; if Tobio didn't hate him so much, he might have laughed. Not that he'd laughed in a long time, but there was no need to dwell on that fact, nor the time.

"Because we're going to destroy you, asshole," Tsukki leered. Yamaguchi was pressing his index fingers against his temples in agitation, meanwhile Bokuto had the smug look of a proud dad. Hinata was still giving Iwaizumi a death glare, and Tobio had to bite his tongue to avoid telling Yamaguchi to calm him down.

"We'll see about that, but first let's deal with this heat, shall we?" Iwaizumi shot a glance in Hinata's direction, then flicked his wrist and willed another force field into being. This time, it only enclosed Hinata and the fire that was quickly beginning to nip at his clothes.

"You're gonna kill him." Tobio's eyes were drying out they were so wide, but he couldn't stop staring into the mangled flames within the shining barrier Iwaizumi had set up. Hinata was beginning to panic, just a little; he was only poking at the force field, but his eyes showed fear that seemed strangely nostalgic to Tobio.

"Well, technically he's killing himself," Iwaizumi pointed out. "Not by burning, necessarily, but eventually that fire is gonna eat up all the oxygen in that little bubble, and then he's out of luck." He put a hand on his hip matter-of-factly, like they were talking about the answer to a homework question and not the precious life of a human being.

Yamaguchi started yelling in Hinata's general direction. "Stop the fire! You'll suffocate!" He cupped his hands round his mouth, shouting over and over that he needed to put the flames out, but Hinata just looked at him blankly. It was clear they wouldn't be able to communicate with him while he was inside that thing, so Yamaguchi switched tactics. "Tsukki, get him out!"

Tsukishima nodded, already building something out of the odds and ends he'd stashed in his pockets. His hands moved fluidly through the air, almost like he was playing a piano, and the electric parts obeyed whatever commands his mind decided to give them without hesitation. Within seconds, he was holding his weapon of choice.

"What the hell is a taser good for at a time like this?" Tobio sounded more indignant than concerned, but he didn't care at the moment. All he wanted was to get Hinata out of there, and if being an asshole accomplished that, he was okay with it.

"You idiot, I told you that tasers were good for everything." Tsukishima ran up to the force field, shoving the contraption into its side and shooting electricity throughout the membrane at full blast. Iwaizumi screamed out in pain; the force field flickered a little, but then he regained his composure and strengthened his defences once again.

Tobio gasped. "Oh, he can feel that?" He looked at his three companions, motioning for them to come closer. They did, and he offered his solution to the rapidly deteriorating circumstances. "Tsukishima, you attack that force field with anything you can make up. Tasers, stun guns, I don't care what. Bokuto has a grenade if you need it." Tsukishima nodded once, holding his hand out, and Bokuto reluctantly handed him the grenade. "Yamaguchi, you attack Iwaizumi's mind. Make him hurt like he's never hurt before, even if it kills him." Yamaguchi gave a thumbs up, and Tobio turned to face Bokuto. "You have history with him, don't you?"

"...Yeah. How'd you know?"

"You didn't use honourifics, and you were way too argumentative. You're pretty agreeable with people you don't know well yet." Bokuto's eyebrows raised a bit in approval. "So I want you to fight him head-to-head. If you've been up against him before, he can't hurt you, right?"

"Well, no, but that's based on the assumption he still uses his old fighting techniques."

"Do we have any reason to believe otherwise?" Tsukishima questioned, no doubt already analysing every possible scenario.

"No, but we don't have any reason to believe he does either." Bokuto sighed, but it was barely audible. "But either way, that's the best plan we're gonna come up with, I think."

Iwaizumi was getting impatient. "Hey, you idiots know he's still in there, right? Better get your asses moving or he's the first one to go!"

Tobio clapped each of his team members on the shoulder, wishing them luck before jogging in the direction of the van. Looking over his shoulder as he left, he could see Tsukishima readying the grenade as Bokuto and Yamaguchi went after Iwaizumi himself. He hoped the three of them could handle it; he believed they could. He had to, or he'd go insane.

Yanking the door of the van open, he stuck his head into the backseat. "Akaashi-sensei, you should probably be prepared to treat some injuries."

Akaashi met his eyes, blinking a couple of times before rolling down his window. He sighed, closing his notebook and stepping out to get his equipment from the trunk. "I will, don't worry. Now you go see if they need any help."

Tobio didn't bother explaining that he couldn't help them, just spun on his heels and jogged back to the clearing. Things seemed to be going according to plan; the force field was much fainter than it had been when he'd left, and Iwaizumi was distracted by Yamaguchi and Bokuto's repeated attacks. There wasn't much for Tobio to do, so he walked over to the back side of the force field.

"Hinata, can you hear me?" Tsukishima had seen him and momentarily stopped electrifying the field, so Tobio put his hand against its shimmering surface. Hinata put his own palm against Tobio's, his chest rising and falling much more rapidly than usual. "We're gonna get you out, just stay with me." He stepped back, waving his hands so Tsukishima could see he was a safe distance away. The force field shook violently as Tsukki electrocuted it, with much more voltage this time.

Just as Tobio was starting to get his hopes up, he heard a cry of despair from the other side of the force field. Weirdly, it sounded like Tsukishima, so he darted to the other boy's side to investigate.

There, laying in the dirt at Tsukki's feet, was Yamaguchi.

He wasn't moving, and Tobio didn't think he was even breathing. He looked from Iwaizumi to Bokuto to Tsukishima, then back to Iwaizumi, horrified. "What did you do?"

Iwaizumi's jaw clenched angrily. "He was fucking with my emotions, not to mention yours, and that's hardly fair."

Tobio spun to Tsukishima, frantic. "Take him to Akaashi-sensei NOW." Tsukki didn't need to be told twice; he scooped Yamaguchi's limp body in his arms, cradling him protectively as he rushed back to the van.

A smirk crept its way up the corners of Iwaizumi's mouth. "Two down, two to go."

"There's three of us, asshat." Tobio was in no mood for joking, not that he ever was.

Iwaizumi hooked his thumb toward Hinata. "Not to burst your bubble, but I doubt the kid's gonna last much longer." Sure enough, Hinata was starting to look dazed; his eyes were droopy and his shoulders were slumping forward.

Maybe it was because that hit a soft spot somewhere deep inside Tobio, or maybe Iwaizumi just pushed his buttons; it could have even been the fact that Yamaguchi was no longer there to ease his pain, if only a little, or a combination of all three. Whatever the reason, Tobio had undeniably, irrevocably, reached his limit, and there was no stopping him now. He succumbed to the rage pounding against his ribcage, muscles twitching violently as a mangled scream escaped his lips. He turned in record time, and he welcomed the feeling of pure, unadulterated bloodlust that came with it.

He didn't waste his time on Iwaizumi; Hinata was rapidly losing consciousness, and Tobio didn't want him to suffer any longer. He swung his arm to slash at the force field, but it dissolved into thin air before he even made contact. He cradled Hinata in his arms, careful not to touch him with his claws, handing him to Bokuto. He immediately set off to find Akaashi, and Tobio directed his attention to Iwaizumi.

"Do you know why I hate you so much?" was not the question he was expecting, but that's what Iwaizumi asked.

"Why the hell would I care to know?" Tobio practically spat back.

"I loved Tooru. Like, actually loved him, not that fake-ass puppy love you had for him. We were supposed to be together when he got back from training you. But, surprise, he never did." Iwaizumi clenched his jaw, balling his hands into fists at his sides. "And you know whose fault that is? Yours. You are the single, solitary thing that kept me from my happiness. So I set out to be the only thing in the way of your happiness, and I figured that little ball of energy was the best way to wreck you. I was right, apparently."

"But you didn't kill him." Tobio was staring at the pulsating vein just under the thin skin of Iwaizumi's neck, his fangs begging to rip it open. He knew he couldn't, though, for many more reasons than usual. It was agonising, for many more reasons than usual.

A sinister smile spread across Iwaizumi's dirt-ridden face. "Unfortunately, no. But guess what I did manage to do? I got you to change into the monster you really are. Which means I can kill you instead, and that's a hell of a lot more satisfying anyway."


	6. Repeal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is sort of...transitionary? Sorry, as usual I have no idea what's going on.
> 
> And once again thank you so much for all your comments! Seriously, they're what keeps me writing this thing. Y'all rock.

The thing was, Iwaizumi hadn't actually been given permission to kill Tobio on the spot, regardless of circumstances.

He was, however, authorised to put Tobio in solitary confinement for the time being while the government reviewed his case, up until the time of Tobio's imminent execution. In reality, these few days were just an excuse to give everyone a chance to tell Tobio goodbye; to get closure. They were almost completely worthless at face value, because once the higher-ups saw Tobio's fit of rage, they would unanimously vote that he be killed.

It would be a public execution, he knew; the death penalty for mutants was always a complete fanfare. Considering the fact that he was a monster type - highly evolved, at that - they'd probably already begun scattering propaganda around the city, advertising their prowess in "weeding out" these immoral accidents of nature. Most people would be at least a little concerned about death, but Tobio couldn't find it in himself to care. He didn't have any reason to believe that there was something waiting for him on the other side, and the only sad thing about death was the grief felt by loved ones left behind. No one loved Tobio, so no one would miss him. That's what he told himself, anyway.

The first two days went by surprisingly quickly, which was probably due to the fact that it still felt so surreal. This was not how Tobio had imagined his death; at the very least, he'd expected Oikawa to be there. Then again, if Oikawa was still around, Tobio wouldn't be in this position to begin with. The other thing that surprised him was that he didn't do much of anything, really; he would've thought that he'd at the very least be doing some soul-searching. Ironically, the days before his death were the one time in his life he didn't feel like repenting.

Noya and Asahi were the first to visit him, which was shocking in itself; but even more so was the fact that they were both perfectly healthy. Tobio didn't ask how Akaashi had managed that, and Noya and Asahi were too busy blubbering about how much they were going to miss him to bother mentioning it. Noya also said he wished they could've had a rematch, but Tobio was sort of glad they wouldn't get the chance. He was tired of hurting people.

Daichi, Suga, and Tanaka came next. Suga was a complete wreck, fretting about everything that could possibly go wrong. Tobio wanted to roll his eyes at that, but there was something noble about the way Suga wanted his last night to be the best he'd ever had. Of course, everyone knew that would never happen, but it was a sweet gesture. Daichi and Tanaka just helped Suga make Tobio comfortable, their own quiet way of sending him off with respect. They managed to finally get him a pillow, which was more than Tobio could've asked for. At least he'd look well-rested when his execution was televised.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi followed, and Tobio could tell that Yamaguchi was making him feel calmer. He hadn't been particularly stressed about dying to begin with, but the added peace was a nice comfort. Tsukishima let Tobio borrow his headphones, telling him that he could listen to whatever he wanted on his last night. Tsukki said music might help him sleep, and it would probably lift his spirits too. Tobio was a little thrown off by Tsukishima's kindness, but he wasn't entirely caught by surprise.

He was, however, surprised when he got a visit from Bokuto and Akaashi. Bokuto did most of the talking; Akaashi just sat there with his arm round Bokuto's waist and nodded whenever he said something particularly emotional, but it was more reassurance than Tobio had expected from him. Bokuto, for his part, was actually crying as he rambled about how tragic this whole ordeal was. Tobio couldn't have figured out why Bokuto would be so upset over him if his life depended on it, but it didn't matter much anyway because his life wasn't going to be too much longer. Then, it happened.

He came last, and for once he was actually quiet. His eyes looked dull, their characteristic shimmer nowhere to be seen, and their edges were red and bloodshot. He sniffled as he sat down on the floor across from Tobio, and they stared at each other for what felt like a hundred years; the only sound in the cramped space was the nervous tapping of Hinata's feet against the floor.

"I'm gonna miss you, Kageyama," were the first words he said. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

He was crying then, hot tears running down his cheeks and dripping onto the tile beneath him. Tobio pulled him closer, and Hinata collapsed into his lap. "What are you crying for? You've lost people more important than me before, and you've been doing fine." He meant it to be encouraging, but as he said it he realised how backhanded it was to say such a thing.

Hinata didn't care; he just wrapped his arms around Tobio's torso and cried into his shirt, sprinkling the fabric with moisture. "I know, but I wasn't there when it happened - I don't want to watch you die."

"They're making you watch?"

Hinata nodded as much as he could, given the fact he was still smothered by Tobio's clothes. "Yeah. They make us watch all the public executions, but this is the first time one of us from the east wing is getting killed."

Tobio rested his chin on the other boy's unkempt hair. "You'll be okay, I promise. I deserve this anyway." He looked down at the floor in front of them, his vision unfocused like it had been so often lately.

"You don't! Don't say that." Tobio was a little taken aback at how forcefully Hinata said it, and he pulled away just a bit.

"You don't think I've done horrible things?"

"Of course I do, but we all have! It's not like you meant to do any of that stuff, it's not your fault." He was searching Tobio's eyes intently, as if weighing his reaction.

Tobio shook his head. "You're wrong. I did mean to do it; just because I can't remember it afterward doesn't mean I didn't want to do it at the time." He sighed heavily, and Hinata pressed his forehead against Tobio's collarbone.

"Can I tell you a secret?" He was almost whispering now, despite his outburst mere seconds earlier. Tobio could feel the tears soaking through his shirt, but Hinata was silent as he cried. It was unnatural, for him to be this quiet, so Tobio wanted to keep him talking. No matter how much it hurt.

"Of course you can, I'll take it to my grave." He crossed his heart with his right index finger, and Hinata put his hand over Tobio's, catching it as he was about to set it back down by his side.

He didn't do anything with it, just held it there against Tobio's chest. "I can feel your heartbeat," he mumbled, before returning to the topic at hand. "I didn't tell any of the others this, but...I was hoping you'd stay for a long time. I like everybody else here that I've met, but you made me feel...different. Like, as long as you were by my side, I was invincible." Tobio started to interject, but Hinata kept talking, ignoring the new wave of tears that had surfaced. "I'm sorry I was the one who got you the death penalty. It's all my fault...if I had been smart enough to think about putting out my flames, I -"

"Hinata." Tobio was whispering now, too, despite his best efforts not to let his emotions get ahold of him. "This isn't because of you. You were scared, and your brain was half-starved for oxygen anyway, and it's hard to control your power when you're emotional to begin with. Don't you think I understand that?" He looked down at the shorter boy, whose shoulders were slumped even further forward than before.

"I know you understand, but I still won't ever forgive myself. Even if you do." He looked down, letting his hand that had been pressed to Tobio's chest fall brusquely into his own lap.

Tobio pulled him into another hug, and this time his mouth was right by Hinata's left ear. "There's nothing to forgive, and I promise nobody blames you but yourself. Please forgive yourself, for me. That's my dying wish." He barely even spoke it; he couldn't do much more than breathe out the words. The fact that he even had a dying wish at all was enough to make him want to cry.

Hinata was silent for a long time; neither one of them moved, just sat there on the rapidly wetting floor with their arms wrapped around each other. At some point, Tobio lost track of which tears came from whom, and Hinata had settled into that heart-wrenching dry sob that was really just gasping for air.

Tobio had to do something; he couldn't take much more of this. Pulling away, he saw Hinata was palming at his already irritated eyes, and he used the tail of his shirt to wipe Hinata's face. "Don't keep rubbing them, okay? You're gonna hurt yourself."

Hinata sniffled one last time, then sat back against the wall. "Tell me a secret, Kageyama."

Tobio felt his brow furrow; he had so many secrets, but none that mattered now. Well, except for one. "I wish I could've met your sister. If she's anything like you, she must be incredible. Whenever you find her, say hi for me." He smiled sadly, and Hinata's lip quivered a bit.

"I don't know what she's like now, but she used to be my best friend. She's got aerokinesis, so she can control the wind, and it's so cool! The best was when we'd fight together, because she could make my fire really huge, and we always won." The corners of his mouth turned up just a little, but it was enough.

Tobio tossed his arm round Hinata's small shoulders, pulling him in to an awkward side hug that still felt nice somehow. "Sounds like you don't need me, anyway. Get out of here, go find her." He shot Hinata another smile, doing his best to be supportive. Not that he knew how.

Apparently it worked, though, because Hinata started laughing. It wasn't forced, either; it was the sound of sunshine incarnate that Tobio had come to know was genuine. "Kageyama, don't smile! You look scary when you try." He was still giggling as he said it, and Tobio couldn't help but laugh at himself. "But don't worry, I'll find her! And I'll tell her all about you, Kageyama. I won't let you be forgotten."

Tobio doubted that would happen regardless, seeing as the government would surely perform any number of crude experiments on his body after he was gone. He didn't say that, though. "Thanks, Hinata. You're a good guy, you know."

Hinata frowned so briefly that Tobio thought he'd imagined it. "Can I tell you another secret?"

Tobio nodded. "I swear on my life I won't tell." He smirked, and Hinata rolled his eyes playfully.

"My sister and I killed a lot of people. I think we were up to -" He paused momentarily, wracking his brain to remember. "- 2,735 when we stopped counting."

Tobio felt his mouth drop open instinctively. "You counted that many? Damn, I would've lost track way before then."

Hinata shrugged. "We were raised by assassins, and the best ones got rewarded, so we had to keep a talley. Nobody else came close, especially when we worked jobs together."

"Assassins?" Tobio started. "You were an assassin?" He had to admit, he was caught off guard with that one.

Hinata bit his lip, contemplating something. "Sort of. We weren't official or anything because we were just kids, but our parents died when we were really young, and no one else would take us in."

Tobio scoffed at the irony of that statement. "They must have been good teachers. You've made it this long, yeah? I'm sure Natsu's raising hell wherever she is, too."

The corners of Hinata's lips turned up into a tiny smile. "Yeah, she probably is." He let his head flop onto Tobio's shoulder, sighing. "Your turn. Tell me another secret."

Tobio stared at the smears of blood on the opposite wall, probably from some other poor soul trying to claw their way out of death. "I...I did love Tooru, honestly. I don't know if it was romantic or anything, like how Iwaizumi felt about him, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for his mentoring. And I still can't believe I killed him." He sighed heavily, running his hand over his face.

Hinata sat up a little straighter as he said that. "Wait, Kageyama! What if you didn't kill Oikawa?" His mouth dropped into a small "o" shape, like he was having an epiphany.

"Hinata, everyone said -"

"I know what they said! But you don't remember it, right?" Tobio shook his head. "See? Maybe there's something they're hiding!" He stood up, pacing the cramped room to get his thoughts together.

Tobio stood up, too, but leaned with his foot against the wall. "Even if there was, it's not like I can find out about it before they execute me. And besides, it doesn't matter. Tooru's dead either way." He looked down, and saw Hinata's feet pass through his vision rapidly.

He stopped abruptly, whirling around and almost crashing into Tobio. "What if he isn't, though?" His eyes had that familiar glimmer back, and it made Tobio happy just as much as it worried him.

"Why would they lie about that?" he asked bluntly. They didn't have any reason to frame him for murder; he'd killed hundreds of other people, for Christ's sake.

"I don't know, but we should find out!" Hinata was bouncing on his heels like he always did when he got excited, and Tobio knew he was past the point of no return.

"How exactly do you plan to do that, dumbass?"

Hinata smirked, then turned and hurriedly crossed to the door. He knocked on it loudly, just twice, and then the echo of a lock clicking open reverberated throughout the small space. It slid open, and Tobio saw the light of the hallway filtering past the silhouette of what seemed to be eight men.

Hinata waved his hand enthusiastically, motioning for them to enter. "C'mon, guys! Let's tell him our plan!"


	7. Momentum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I had a lot of issues with the way this chapter turned out, and I'm still not really happy with it but I felt bad for making y'all wait so oh well *cries*
> 
> Also Tanaka's comment about whispering his whole life is actually a tumblr post, but I've lost the link...

Hinata was promptly greeted by a smack on the back of the head from Tsukishima. "You idiot, we told you not to say anything!"

Hinata wasn't fazed, just rubbed his head momentarily before resuming his excited fidgeting. "But Tsukki, Kageyama needs to know, too!"

Tobio looked round the room, searching for some sort of clue as to what was going on. "What do I need to know?" he whispered to the person closest to him.

Tanaka laughed loudly, to Tobio's dismay. "Nothing! Hinata may have jumped the gun, but we still aren't gonna tell you shit." He laughed again, his pointed teeth clacking together when he finally shut his mouth.

Suga sighed faintly. "Tanaka, there's no need to yell."

Tanaka looked indignant. "I'm not yelling, mom! This is my normal voice, and my whole life I've been whispering! NOW I'M FREE!" He turned to Noya, who was already positioned for a congratulatory high-five.

"Knock it off, you two." Daichi grumbled, shaking his head at how obnoxious his fellow prisoners could be. He didn't address the fact that Tanaka had just called Suga "mom," but apparently he had other things on his mind. "Look, Kageyama, we do have a plan...but we can't tell you what it is."

Tobio felt the corners of his mouth turn down just a tiny bit. "Why not?"

"Because the less you know, the better," was Bokuto's less than helpful explanation.

Daichi nodded in agreement. "That's pretty much always true around here, but especially now. If the higher-ups sense anything from you that something's about to happen, it's all over."

"But I already know something's about to happen."

"But you don't know when, moron." Tsukishima acted like he meant to be helpful, but Yamaguchi still gave him a stern look.

Tobio furrowed his brow as he considered their options. One, they could tell him everything, and probably put a lot of extra risk in the operation (which was undoubtedly risky enough as it was). Two, they could tell him nothing, and let him stress about what they had planned and when it would happen, but there was much less chance of a compromise. Three, they could tell him some of it, like the major details, so he'd at least have a head's up; the problem there was the same as the first option, though. Really, he had to admit that at this point he already knew too much.

When he broke out of his reverie, Hinata was still rambling in his defense. "- then it wouldn't be a big deal, and even if he did we could handle whatever -"

"Hinata." Tobio put his hand on the smaller boy's fluffy hair, squeezing it slightly for emphasis.

Instantly, Hinata's golden eyes shot up to meet his own. "Is everything okay, Kageyama?"

Tobio nodded. "It's okay, don't argue with them. They're right."

Hinata looked from Tobio, to Daichi, and back to Tobio. "But don't you wanna know what our plan is?"

"Of course I do. But it's not worth the risk, and I don't want to be responsible for any of you getting hurt...or worse." He dropped his hand back at his side, and Daichi shot Suga a look.

"You already did that, genius!" Noya chimed, and Tobio felt his face get hot.

"Hey, you don't have to make him feel bad about it. We've all done a number on each other at some point," Asahi offered, which prompted Noya to stick his tongue out at him.

"Anyway, the point is not to worry. We'll handle it, and you just focus on not dying." Daichi sounded like a stern father, and it was sort of discombobulating.

"You do realise what an execution is, right?" Tobio blurted, covering his mouth as soon as he said it. Everyone stared at him, except for Hinata, who was giggling like an idiot.

"Kageyama, we aren't gonna let them kill you! Haven't you figured that out by now?"

"Obviously not. For someone who calls other people 'dumbass' a lot, you're pretty fucking dense." Tsukishima was messing with his headphones, as usual, so he didn't notice Yamaguchi's eyes widening to twice their normal size in warning.

"Listen, you dick, I don't know what your problem is -"

"My problem is that you are completely oblivious to the fact that you aren't the only one who can think here. We've all been through hell, and we're all here because we dragged other people through hell with us." He'd been leaning on the wall, but now he straightened up and closed the gap between himself and Tobio. "We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves, and if you would stop acting like you're some golden child then you'd see that you actually need our help."

Tobio's eyes narrowed. "When have I ever said I'm a golden child?"

Tsukki rolled his eyes. "Your mentor was Oikawa fucking Tooru. He's a legend, and you know that. You may not do it on purpose, but you're always acting like you're better than everyone else just because you're a tiny bit stronger. Don't let it get to your head, because one day you may not have friends as forgiving as we are."

Tobio continued to glare at him, and Tsukishima returned the favour till Yamaguchi stepped between them. "Guys, don't fight. I need to save my strength for tonight and I can't deal with this right now." He looked pointedly at Tsukki as he said it, who backed off ever so slightly.

Tobio frowned, turning to face the rest of the group. "I never once thought I didn't need your help. I just don't want it if it means you'll all be in just as much danger as I am, is all." He shrugged a little awkwardly, not used to verbalising his feelings. Or even getting in touch with them in the first place, for that matter.

Suga pulled him in for a hug, patting his back comfortingly. "We're not doing this because you want us to, and to be honest we don't care if you do or not. We're doing this for us, because we don't want to lose you."

"What?" Tobio pulled back slightly, completely dumbfounded.

Suga nodded. "You're part of the team now. We all talked about it, and we agreed we'd all be broken-hearted if anything happened to you -"

"Some of us more than others," Tsukki interjected, earning himself a stern glare from Daichi.

"- so we're going to do this, whether you like it or not. We won't let you throw your life away in a last ditch attempt to save us."

"That would be one half-assed rescue mission anyway," Tanaka added. "You wouldn't stand a chance, we're too self-destructive." He said it almost like that was something to be proud of.

"But - why? I didn't do anything worth making you like me."

Hinata smiled, a big toothy grin that made Tobio's chest tighten. "That's because you don't have to do anything, Kageyama. We love you just the way you are!"

Tobio blushed again, and Yamaguchi cupped his hand over Tsukki's mouth before he could spoil the moment.

\----------

Bokuto slid the door open noisily, Akaashi following him over the threshold as he went over to check on Tobio's microchip. "They're gonna do the usual, lethal injection."

"I figured," was all Tobio said.

"Don't worry, Kageyama." Akaashi put a firm hand on his shoulder, making Tobio start. "I'll take good care of you."

"You'll what?" Tobio just stared at him.

Bokuto laughed, elbowing Tobio's ribs teasingly. "He's the doctor, right? He does the shots around here!"

Tobio looked from Bokuto back to Akaashi, who nodded. "But I've prepared something special for you, so don't start stressing out."

"If you turn, we'll be in deep shit!"

Akaashi shot him a look. "Bokuto-san, that's not necessary. The point is, you don't have any reason to be worried."

Tobio shrugged, not really sure how to respond to that. "I don't exactly trust you, but I guess I have no choice." He sighed dramatically for emphasis.

"Hey, don't make me kick your ass right before your execution!" Bokuto piped up.

"As if you could, old man."

"I'm only two years older than you!"

"Stop it, you two," Akaashi scolded. "I know your adrenaline levels are through the roof right now but the last thing we need is to cause a scene right before the main show."

As if on cue, Kiyoko walked through the door. "It's time to go, Kageyama." She was looking at Bokuto as she said it, though, and he nodded. She smiled a little, and tucked her hair behind her ear as she stepped out of the way so they could leave. "Whenever you get in there, find Hinata. Spot him in the crowd and don't lose him, okay?"

Tobio gave her a questioning look, but nodded. "Okay."

\----------

The sunlight was intense for it being so early in the morning, and even more so since Tobio had spent the last week in a poorly lit prison. He squinted, wishing he wasn't handcuffed so he could shield his eyes from the blazing glare. Technically, he probably could've freed himself, but all things considered he'd rather go blind from the sun.

He didn't go blind, though, and once his eyes adjusted he started scanning the crowd for that familiar mop of orange hair. Bokuto was guiding him by his right arm, which was blocking his vision a bit, but he shifted slightly and Tobio could see a tiny glimpse of a very focused Hinata. His face was scrunched up in concentration, and Tobio wasn't sure he wanted to know why. Not yet, anyway.

Bokuto pulled him up onto a platform, strapping him to a seat with metal chains, which Tobio thought was overkill, but whatever. Akaashi was already waving Yachi over to bring him the syringe so he could get it ready, and Tobio did his best not to watch. It would only make him more anxious, and that wouldn't be good for anyone.

While Akaashi was busy doing that, Bokuto cocked his gun and took his place on Tobio's other side. People started cheering, and Tobio knew that meant someone important was here. He was right, judging by the way Akaashi and Bokuto bowed solemnly when the mysterious person came near. Tobio had no idea who he was; to him, it was just another rich middle-aged businessman who probably cheated on his wife.

Regardless of who he was, the man clearly thought highly of himself, and he wasted no time before droning on about how despicable Tobio was and how proud he was of everyone at Karasuno who had brought him here. There was most likely more to it, but that's really all Tobio got out of it because he stopped listening after the first thirty minutes. It was hot, and he was going to die probably, and all this old sack of air could do was ramble. He wanted to roll his eyes.

Finally, after an hour of talking about absolutely nothing, the man bowed and left the stage to take his seat in the front row for the main event. He looked smug, and Tobio bared his teeth at him, which made him visibly uncomfortable. Bokuto put a warning hand on Tobio's shoulder, but he backed off with the satisfaction of scaring a top government official crossed off of his bucket list.

Akaashi didn't prolong the inevitable; he walked right over to Tobio, tested the syringe, and gave him the shot all within a matter of seconds. It felt anticlimactic, like Tobio wished his death would have been a bit more noteworthy. To the people in the crowd, it might have been, if the way they were cheering was any indication; but to him it just felt like he was in some poorly written melodrama.

He didn't feel any different, but Akaashi had mentioned that it usually took around three minutes for whatever the hell he'd just shot Tobio up with to reach the heart. So in essence, Tobio had three more minutes on this planet. He was still looking at Hinata, who hadn't moved over the course of the whole ordeal. But just then, his head shot up.

Tobio did his best not to react, but he heard a strange sound over to the left; the crowd started searching for its origin too, so at least he knew he wasn't crazy. It sounded kind of like a scream, but no one around seemed to be in trouble, and nobody could figure out where it was coming from. Tobio knew, though; he spotted Tanaka's sneer instantly even through the mass of people.

The scream kept going, progressively getting louder and more shrill by the second. Akaashi walked over under the guise of checking Tobio's progress, but he stuck something into his ears instead. Tobio wasn't sure what it was, but at least he couldn't hear Tanaka anymore.

He could see the effects of that scream, though. A couple people's ears had already started bleeding, and the platform Tobio was sat on collapsed right under his feet. A nearby building was starting to look unstable too, and the crowd had generally entered a state of pure panic. Tobio, Akaashi and Bokuto stayed put on the stage, and Hinata still hadn't left his spot. Tobio kept watching him, waiting for some sort of sign.

As the chaos continued to build, Tobio saw Tsukki waving his hands around the government official's car out of the corner of his eye. Tobio wondered what he was doing, but he understood once the engine started with a purr.

Akaashi and Bokuto gave each other a look, and Bokuto whispered, "That's your cue." They moved to block the crowd's view of Tobio, and suddenly Hinata was by his side.

"C'mon, Kageyama, it's time to go!" He smiled and undid the chains, grabbing Tobio's hand and pulling him toward the car.

"Wait, what about everyone else?" Tobio asked.

"Like who?" Noya questioned, and Tobio's eyes widened as he looked into the car.

There, crammed into the backseat, was Suga, Yamaguchi, Asahi, Noya, Tsukki, and Daichi. Bokuto and Akaashi were already running toward their direction, so Tobio counted them too, and that would mean that only Tanaka was unaccounted for. He had to admit, he was impressed; he hadn't even noticed when they'd all made a break for it. He also had to admit he was glad this particular government official had driven the stereotypical black suburban, because at least they would all manage to fit into one car this way.

Hinata lifted his right hand, pointing his index finger to the sky and shooting a burst of flames into the air. Within seconds, Tanaka was at Tobio's side, and the few of them who were still standing outside climbed into the car. No one got into the driver's seat or the passenger seat, though, which confused Tobio.

"Wait, who's driving?" he asked no one in particular.

"Me." He turned to see a tall guy with blonde hair and a cigarette climb into the driver's seat, followed by a shorter man getting into the passenger side next to him. He started the car, peeling out at full speed.

"Who the hell are you?"

The guy who was driving turned around, flashing Tobio a mischievous smile. "Name's Ukai. Nice to meet you, Kageyama."


End file.
